Argentina has surprised the world by releasing hundreds of secret documents that reveal how Nazi fugitives lived in the country after World War II. These records, kept hidden for many years, have now been made available to the public thanks to an order by President Javier Milei.
Secret Nazi Files Made Public by Argentina
A total of 1,850 documents were released. These include secret files from Argentina’s intelligence agencies, police, and military. The files cover a wide range of years, from the 1950s to the 1980s. They are now publicly accessible on a government website.
This move came after a meeting in February between President Milei, a U.S. Steve Daines, a senator, and Simon Wiesenthal Center staff. Although they requested the documents, the Argentine government said this release is part of its larger promise to be transparent and open with the public.
The records show details of how Argentina handled information about Nazi war criminals who escaped to the country after the war. Bank data, classified intelligence files, and even previously undisclosed presidential directives signed between 1957 and 2005 are among the documents.
Historians are excited because these files might help them understand events related to Argentina’s military, its intelligence structure, arms deals, and the fight against Communism during the Cold War. Copies of the records have also been given to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is currently investigating Nazi-linked banking operations, including ties to Credit Suisse.
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New Details on Mengele, Eichmann, and Priebke
Among the most chilling documents are those related to Josef Mengele, one of the most notorious Nazi doctors. Known as the “Angel of Death,” Mengele conducted cruel experiments on people at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The newly made public files show that Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele arrived in Argentina in 1949. He initially lived freely under his given name. He thereafter began going by the fictitious name “Gregor Helmut” and claimed to be from the Trent region of Italy. He lived in different neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, including Vicente López and Monserrat.
During his time in Argentina, Nazi fugitive Mengele married Marta María Will, who had been married to his younger brother before he died. Mengele also adopted his nephew, Karl-Heinz. In 1956, they applied for good conduct papers so they could travel to Chile.
Even though Germany asked for Mengele to be sent back, Argentina refused, saying the request had legal problems. The documents show that Argentine authorities did not take any action against Mengele. Later, he fled to Brazil and Paraguay, where he resided until his death in 1979 under a different name.
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The files also talk about Adolf Eichmann, who helped plan the Holocaust and arranged the deportation of millions of Jews to death camps. He lived in Lanús, south of Buenos Aires, using the name “Ricardo Klement.” Living in Lanús, south of Buenos Aires, he went by the name “Ricardo Klement.” Before being apprehended by Mossad-affiliated Israeli agents in 1960, he resided there with his family. Later, Eichmann was brought to Israel, tried, and killed.
Erich Priebke, a former SS officer who participated in the 1944 Ardeatine Caves massacre in Italy, which claimed the lives of over 300 people, is also listed in the records. Priebke moved to Argentina in 1948 and stayed there for decades. He lived in Bariloche, a town in the mountains. In the 1990s, after a journalist found him and reported his crimes, he was finally sent back to Italy. Among the recently made public records is a 1995 directive from President Carlos Menem authorizing his extradition.
Some of the papers also include decrees from Argentina’s military government (1976-1983), which ordered prisoners to be released but kept under watch. These papers show how the government controlled people even after letting them go.
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From Secret Archives to Public Website
The documents, linked to Nazi fugitives, had been hidden for many years. By presidential decree, they were formally moved to the General Archive of the Nation (AGN) in 1992. Even yet, they were only visible in a designated chamber within the AGN facility.
They have now been digitized and made available online for the first time. Anyone can go to the government’s website and read them from anywhere.
The records come from many of Argentina’s top security groups, like the Federal Police’s Foreign Affairs Division, the intelligence agency known as SIDE, and the National Gendarmerie, which guards the country’s borders and once tracked Nazi movements.
There are seven main case files. They include documents from various presidential terms, military and civilian governments, and security forces. The files include notes on how Argentina prepared against Communism during the Cold War, such as a 1963 document titled “General Military Plan for the Defense of the American Continent.”
The Argentine government says these efforts are part of a long-term project to uncover how Nazi criminals were protected in Latin America. By releasing these documents, Argentina is helping historians and the public understand a dark and complex part of its past.